Yeah, I was one of the people who wanted Boykin last year, especially when he fell a little bit, but the Niners had picks when he was expected to go and passed. Baalke has been quoted as liking average to bigger CB's and not liking to take them early in the Draft. I'm wondering if he'll make an exception to try and add depth at the slot CB competition.

__________________

Tomsula in as HC after the "Harbacle"
Operation 2015 Super Bowl Champions: In progress, with much work to be done

Yeah, I was one of the people who wanted Boykin last year, especially when he fell a little bit, but the Niners had picks when he was expected to go and passed. Baalke has been quoted as liking average to bigger CB's and not liking to take them early in the Draft. I'm wondering if he'll make an exception to try and add depth at the slot CB competition.

I doubt it. And I think that formula actually works. I think you only take CBs in the first who are insanely gifted as cover men or who are physically freakish. I learned my lesson from Kyle Wilson. Good-average physical traits and very good skills sometimes don't translate. Guys like Patrick Peterson are rare physically, along with great cover skills so they should be drafted accordingly. As much as I like a guy like Millner, I wouldn't necessarily want us spending a high-mid first on him. He has good physical traits and is very good cover guy. But that's kind of hit and miss, depending on the scheme and the player. Amakaura is a good example. He came on last year once he got healthy and played decent so his future is still bright but would anyone be happy if he were the pick, at #7 where most ppl had him slotted to go? For my money, we took a better talent in Cully, two rounds later. There are guys I like who may not have Millner's profile or production, or are a little more raw, but match-up to him physically and skill wise. And those guys are the guys I think Baalke looks to pluck from right under team's noses in the 3rd and beyond. He did it with Bowman. He did it with Cully. Different position, but same mentality.

I liked Boykin from Georgia last year and I think you may have too, if I'm remembering correctly. I believe Boykin is 5'9 as well and weighed in close to 185 lbs. Also considered very physical for his size. Boykin has good return skills, which was also a plus.

I don't much about Alford right now. Do you like him better than Boykin last year?

Very similar, actually. I had a crush on Boykin and I haven't seen nearly as much from Alford but I've really liked what I've seen. He's physical and has a great COD. I'm not certain how consistent his pedal is.

I doubt it. And I think that formula actually works. I think you only take CBs in the first who are insanely gifted as cover men or who are physically freakish. I learned my lesson from Kyle Wilson. Good-average physical traits and very good skills sometimes don't translate. Guys like Patrick Peterson are rare physically, along with great cover skills so they should be drafted accordingly. As much as I like a guy like Millner, I wouldn't necessarily want us spending a high-mid first on him. He has good physical traits and is very good cover guy. But that's kind of hit and miss, depending on the scheme and the player. Amakaura is a good example. He came one last year and played decent so his future is still bright but would anyone be happy if he were the pick, at #7 where most ppl had him slotted to go? For my money, we took a better talent in Cully, two rounds later. There are guys I like who may not have Millner profile or production, or are a little more raw, but match-up to him physically and skill wise. And those guys are the guys I think Baalke looks to pluck from right under team's noses in the 3rd and beyond. He did it with Bowman. He did it with Cully. Different position, but same mentality.

PP was the exception, I agree. Revis was taken middle of the first (14th) and Champ Bailey was taken Top 10 (7th overall) but there have been numerous guys taken in the first (you eluded to a few though I would say the jury is still a little out on Amukumra) that haven't been that awesome. I've noticed that a lot of good corners (and WRs) are often taken in the second and third rounds.

I highly expect them to Draft AT LEAST 1 CB, if not multiple, bit it remains to be seen how high they will use a pick on that position. In Harbaalke I trust, so whatever their philosophy for this off season ends up being, I'm on board.

__________________

Tomsula in as HC after the "Harbacle"
Operation 2015 Super Bowl Champions: In progress, with much work to be done

Brent is absolutely correct. Guys like Brock, who are a little smaller physically than what we draft, we usually go after as UDFAs. But we rarely spend draft picks on those players. Curtis Holcomb maybe you could categorize on the smaller size. As a 7th round pick, he was measured at 5'10, 190 lbs when he was drafted. And that's not even that small.

According to Pro Football Focus, Kaepernick tied for seventh (76.0) in “accuracy percentage” in 2012. PFF accounts for dropped passes, throw aways, spiked balls, batted passes and passes thrown as the quarterback was hit in measuring accuracy percentage.

In another relevant stat, deep-passing accuracy, Kaepernick ranked first (60.6) and among quarterbacks with at least 30 downfield attempts of at least 20 yards.

Future so bright, gotta wear shades. And I love the fact that he turned down invitations to both the Grammy's and Oscar's to workout. He was quoted as saying, 'they should get Flaaco to do those engagements, he's the SB winning QB. I still have work to do.' How can you not love this kid?

Future so bright, gotta wear shades. And I love the fact that he turned down invitations to both the Grammy's and Oscar's to workout. He was quoted as saying, 'they should get Flaaco to do those engagements, he's the SB winning QB. I still have work to do.' How can you not love this kid?

That's good **** right there. Thanks for sharing. And, as I always say, the future is bright.

Is anyone concerned that Baalke could be overplaying his hand with Alex Smith? Seriously, with only $3.5m in cap room, losing Goldson, Walker or Jean Francois in FA would be a bigger loss than gaining a mid to late round draft pick for Smith.

I think that if Goldson and Walker hit FA, both are gone. Losing either would hurt but Goldson would hurt a lot more. I personally think that releasing Smith and gaining the $8.5m in cap room which would give us a total of $12m in cap room is far more important than a mid to late round draft pick because the team would then be able to re-sign Goldson and others or at the very least franchise Goldson for 2013.

Is anyone concerned that Baalke could be overplaying his hand with Alex Smith? Seriously, with only $3.5m in cap room, losing Goldson, Walker or Jean Francois in FA would be a bigger loss than gaining a mid to late round draft pick for Smith.

I think that if Goldson and Walker hit FA, both are gone. Losing either would hurt but Goldson would hurt a lot more. I personally think that releasing Smith and gaining the $8.5m in cap room which would give us a total of $12m in cap room is far more important than a mid to late round draft pick because the team would then be able to re-sign Goldson and others or at the very least franchise Goldson for 2013.

Thoughts?

Depends what Goldson wants. I think he's a very good player (7-8) who will probably want a great contract (10 a year, think Brandon Carr money). We all know Baalke has a set price and does not budge if the FA wants more- we've seen it time and time again the last 2 offseasons. If Goldson has outpriced himself and isn't willing to come down to Baalke, he probably won't hesitate to let him walk.

Depends what Goldson wants. I think he's a very good player (7-8) who will probably want a great contract (10 a year, think Brandon Carr money). We all know Baalke has a set price and does not budge if the FA wants more- we've seen it time and time again the last 2 offseasons. If Goldson has outpriced himself and isn't willing to come down to Baalke, he probably won't hesitate to let him walk.

He's not a cornerback and isnt worth $10m a season. $8m a season is fair at least to me. But forget the long term deal right now. If they cant get a long term deal done, is NOT releasing Smith more important just to acquire a mid to late round draft pick than franchising Goldson at under $7.5m? To me, keeping Goldson via a long term contract or the franchise tag is far more important.

I know Baalke has a set price which is fine but if I see Goldson leave because he wants $10m a season and Baalke offered $8m but then brings back Moss for $2.5m, im sorry but thats not a smart business move at all because while you may be saving $7.5m between paying Goldson $10m and Moss $2.5m, the production level isnt even close.

If the team loses Goldson, im sorry but that could bite Baalke in the ass because there's no one on the roster who can step in and replace Goldson plus keeping Smith (and other veterans) over Goldson is also a bad business decision. Goldson has played his best the last two seasons and no, I wouldnt pay a veteran like Reed or Woodson $10m over Goldson because at best, they're both a stopgap and arent what they once were. Both are good but I wouldnt want either one to replace Goldson.

Bottom line is that I think keeping Goldson via the franchise tag or a long term deal is much more important than trying to trade Alex Smith for a mid to later round draft pick.

Add in the possibility of losing Walker and Jean Francois and well, I for one wont be a happy camper especially when older more expensive players are still on the team.

Is anyone concerned that Baalke could be overplaying his hand with Alex Smith? Seriously, with only $3.5m in cap room, losing Goldson, Walker or Jean Francois in FA would be a bigger loss than gaining a mid to late round draft pick for Smith.

I think that if Goldson and Walker hit FA, both are gone. Losing either would hurt but Goldson would hurt a lot more. I personally think that releasing Smith and gaining the $8.5m in cap room which would give us a total of $12m in cap room is far more important than a mid to late round draft pick because the team would then be able to re-sign Goldson and others or at the very least franchise Goldson for 2013.

Thoughts?

We can always franchise Goldson and then sign him to a long-term deal after Alex gets traded or released.

We can always franchise Goldson and then sign him to a long-term deal after Alex gets traded or released.

I think we only have 2 weeks to franchise Goldson at $7.5 million, starting this past Monday. So about 10 days left. But we only have about $3.5 million in cap space. Which means we'd have to cut, restructure, or extend someone to create cap space.